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Monday, January 26, 2015

Fumblethumbs

Originally written by myself on June 19, 2010.




I've never been that interested in sports. 

There's lots of people who are incredibly gung-ho about sporting events. The Stanley Cup finals. The World Series. Recently, everyone seems to be crazy about the World Cup of Soccer (or football if you happen to live outside of North America). 

I don't like to use stereotypes to describe a particular scenario, but as a person who was born male, it almost seems as though it's "expected" that I automatically like every single sport out there. Baseball, NASCAR, Synchronized Swimming. If it involves sports of any kind on ESPN, TSN, or even SPIKE-TV, I should be interested. 

But, again. I'm not. 

Even as far back as I can remember, I never showed much of an interest in physical activity (which could explain why I was the huskiest one of all in school). I would never read the Sports page of a newspaper, I was bored to tears by Sports Illustrated magazine, and I only bought high school football tickets as a way to get out of class early. To me, sports were just one of those interests that never really applied to me. 

That's not to say that I avoided sports like the plague. In elementary school, I did play in a few lunch hour games, but mostly they were in sports that I could do, like floor hockey, or volleyball. I studied karate as a pre-teen. And, I used to be a pretty good bowler back in the day. I even took part in the 2009 Bowling for Miracles tournament through work. So, I'm not overall anti-sports. 

But, I think that was the key to it all. The only sports that I liked were the sports that I could do without a whole lot of effort. I was pretty good at spiking a volleyball, and my husky size as a kid meant that I was the perfect goalie for floor hockey. 

Unfortunately, that's where my sports skills end. 

I can't dribble to save my life in a game of basketball, though I could spell horse faster than any other kid. When I wasn't missing the ball in baseball, it was making contact with my face. And don't even get me started on track and field. Can't shot put. Can't hurdle. Can't triple jump. Heck, even a double jump is a stretch. 

I guess my lack of athletic talent kind of rubbed off on my ability to care about sports. If I couldn't do them, why should I care about athletes who could? I mean, sure, athletes could make a lot of money playing the game. Michael Jordan took it one step further and endorsed hot dogs, sneakers and tighty-whities for serious cash. But, again, Michael Jordan also had years of training and and success. Me...well, I eat hot dogs and wear underwear and sneakers...yay me. 

I guess I can also see how athletes are glorified because they do put a lot of effort and passion into the game. Lots of kids want to be professional basketball players or pitchers for the MLB. I just wasn't one of them. 

I was the worst athlete in my class. I very well could have been the worst athlete in my school. It used to bother me in high school, seeing the jocks of the school getting all these perks. Athletic banquets. Football scholarships, the whole nine yards. But, now that I look back on it, I'm not bothered by the slightest. Those jocks found something that they were skilled at and used it to their advantage. Nothing wrong with that at all. 

Just like in my case, I happen to be skilled in writing down my thoughts and coming up with occasional zingers. I'm sure that if I work hard enough, I could be a success as an author, have a career in motivational speaking or advertising...maybe even become the next Jeff Dunham or George Lopez. 

To think that there were a couple of people in my life who told me that it wasn't 'macho' to not care about sports. To me, being macho is finding something you're good at and making a success out of it. Sports just aren't my thing. But, luckily, I've found something that is. 

And, if you wanna call me fumblethumbs, go right ahead. I wear it like a badge of honour. 

Or, at least a bronze at the Olympic ceremonies.

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Every Shade of Blue...and Purple...and Orange...and Black...

Originally written by myself on September 16, 2010...

I have always been fascinated by colours.

More importantly, I've always been fascinated by the meanings of colours.  Why colours are used.  What makes people decide to use the colours they do, or wear the colours they wear.

I thought I would look at it through a variety of different meanings and old wives tales by using my three favourite colours...but don't worry.  I'll post all the colours of the rainbow up here, just so all of you can look up your favourite colours and see exactly what they mean to you!

Why don't we start by looking at a grid of nine random colours and what they mean?



Okay...so you can basically see what the meanings of the colours are in this grid.  But, here's the ones for my three favourite colours.

PURPLE:  royalty, luxury, dignity, wisdom, spirituality, passion, vision, magic
BLUE:  peace, stability, calmness, confidence, tranquility, sincerity, affection, integrity
GREEN:  life, growth, environment, healing, money, safety, relaxation, freshness

Now, looking at this list...I'm not definitively any one of these colours solely.  Take purple for example.  I see myself as a person who could be considered wise, and possible have some sort of vision.  But, my idea of luxury is buying the more expensive kind of ice cream. 

With blue...I am very affectionate and filled with integrity...but I don't see myself as being the calmest of people, and let's face it...I have confidence issues.

And, with green...I have done a lot of growing this past year, and do practice safety and take care of the environment...but money...I don't have a lot of...LOL.

But, I suppose if you blended these three colours together, that would be me.

Here's some other meanings...



Purple can also represent creativity, enlightenment, and on the flip side, arrogance and mourning.  Once a colour that only the rich nobles could afford, it's now seen as a colour worn by creative types.



Blue is known to be the safest global colour, and its meaning usually has to do with spirituality, calmness, and security...but can also be a colour that represents depression and technology.



Green usually represents life, vigor, growth, and good luck...but in some countries, it can be a bad colour.  In China and France, green is a colour that you don't normally see on packaging.  In fact, in China, it is said that a green hat is a sign that a woman is cheating on her husband!!!



Red is a bold colour that can be considered bi-polar.  On one hand, it represents love, strength, and speed.  On the other hand, it can represent danger, violence, and warning.  Unlike the colour green, red is a colour of good luck, with people getting red envelopes filled with cash for the Chinese New Year.  It's also the colour of purity in India.



Orange, while not as bold as red is a warm colour.  Meanings include balance, warmth, enthusiasm, vibrance, flamboyance, and attention-seeking.



Yellow represents joy, happiness, sunshine, and optimism.  On the flip side, it can also symbolise dishonesty, illness, cowardice, and betrayal.

So, as you can see...different colours have different meanings.

And, we can tell a lot about certain pieces of artwork based on the colours that artists choose to illustrate artwork, magazine covers, and comic books.

Speaking of comic books, let's analyze a cover.

Let's take a look at a cover from 2009...Archie's Double Digest #202.



Well, we can make out some things...the title of the opening story is Archie: Goodbye Forever.  So, we already know that the story is likely not going to be a happy one.  In fact, Archie and Betty are on the cover crying in the middle of a thunderstorm (where they appear to be struck by lightning).

Notice that the dominant colours on this cover are black and blue.  We know that black means mystery and death...and we know blue can symbolize depression and peace.  Given these colours are dominant, the colour choices work because it looks like Archie and Betty are breaking up because he has to move.  The death of a relationship, so to speak.  And, to the reader, unless you read the first two parts, there is a bit of mystery, as you don't know why Archie is leaving.  And, take a look at what Archie is wearing.  He's decked out in blue and white.  Now, the blue could represent Archie's depression...but blue could also represent sincerity, and peace.  Like maybe Archie has made peace with the situation despite his being unhappy about it.  The white in Archie's shirt could show goodness, light, and hope.  Archie's always been squeaky-clean, so the goodness and light is simple enough...but maybe there's hope that maybe he doesn't have to leave.  And, take a look at Betty's blouse.  It's pink.  Pink represents love, sensitivity, romance, compassion...all qualities that if you read Archie comics, you would know that they best describe Betty Cooper.

In this cover, I'd say whoever coloured this cover made all the right choices.  It wouldn't look right if the cover was predominantly yellow (a happy colour).  And, the contrasting colours only serves to add a more detailed explanation to understanding the colour.

Yeah, you can tell that I've been studying this a bit too long.

But, this excites me.  I'm fascinated by colour.

Just take a look at the examples I've provided, and see if your favourite colour suits you!

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Fine Feathered Foes - A Short Story

Because of so many things going on at once (mostly my grandmother's funeral which is taking place this upcoming Monday), I've decided that for the next three days, I would post some pieces that I worked on over the years and share them with you here.

I guess you could consider this to be my writings prior to the blog beginning.

Though that isn't entirely true.  This piece was written in February 2012.  I composed this piece for the Canada Writes Short Story Contest three years ago.  Although I didn't win that competition, I enjoyed writing it.



And now I want to share this story with all of you.  It's got a pop culture twist to it which I will reveal to you at the end.  Can you figure it out before you get there?

The story is called - FINE FEATHERED FOES

If there was one hobby that Mr. O'Toole loved doing more than anything else, it was bird watching.

Every morning he visited the park, carrying a set of binoculars and a well-worn notebook to record everything he had seen. He would sit on his favourite bench to watch all the birds that flew past. He enjoyed seeing the many different types of birds which called the park home during the summer months. The last week of September was one of his final opportunities that the man would have to watch as many species of his feathered friends as possible before the harsh brutality of the cold winter winds moved in, and he wanted to take full advantage of it.

It was a lovely day for bird watching. There was a chill in the air, which was normal for early autumn. The leaves on the trees turned brighter shades of orange each day, and the gentle breeze rustled through the tree tops.

The park didn't have a lot of people around. It made sense, given that it was only half-past seven. There were a few joggers taking advantage of the early morning sunshine. Otherwise, it was fairly quiet. Mr. O'Toole was in his element. Peace and quiet made for the perfect bird watching conditions as far as he was concerned.

He sat down on his bench, overlooking the river that flowed alongside the park's bicycle path. He took out his binoculars and watched the riverbank, hoping to spot a rare breed of bird that he had not yet seen. There were pigeons and seagulls flying around the park, but Mr. O'Toole wasn't interested in those. He really wanted to spot a Northern Mockingbird, but knew that the odds of locating one, were slim, especially around this time of year. While it would have made his day complete to spot one, for now, he was quite content sitting in the park on a gorgeous September day.

His gaze happened to fixate on a couple of boys who were strolling through the park. They couldn't have been much more than fifteen. Mr. O'Toole eyed the two young men curiously. He could see that both of them were carrying backpacks, a clear indication that they were on their way to school. He also noticed that both boys were staring at the screens of their mobile phones.

He shook his head with a mixture of disbelief and disgust.

He didn't need to have the electronic devices that many people felt they needed to make their lives easier. He was quite happy going on long walks, taking in the beauty that nature had to offer. When he was a young lad, he enjoyed riding his bike through the park, taking a dip in the lake, and of course, bird watching. He didn't even want to understand the need to be tied to a mobile phone device all hours of the day. Not when there was so much beauty out there in the world.

Yet there they were doing exactly that.

He couldn't quite figure it out. How these boys could stare at a tiny screen, pushing dozens of buttons every few seconds.

“If only those boys could turn off those devices for five minutes...” Mr. O'Toole thought to himself. “...then maybe they could appreciate this beautiful day as much as I do.”

It almost frustrated Mr. O'Toole to see both of these young men have such disregard of their surroundings because their mobile phones took up their entire attention span. One of the boys was so drawn to his mobile phone that he caused a cyclist to swerve out of the way to avoid hitting him. The other boy almost walked directly into an outdoor garbage can, as he was too busy typing something to notice it. This prompted the other boy to point and laugh at his misfortune. Mr. O'Toole couldn't understand what the boys were saying to each other as he was too far away to overhear them. At this point, he didn't really seem to care, as he thought they had caused enough trouble. He was not impressed with either young man.

“With attitudes like that, no wonder the birds are staying away.” Mr. O'Toole said to himself.

The two boys composed themselves seconds later and went right back to typing away on their mobile phones. Mr. O'Toole could not believe his eyes. He would have thought that the boys would have learned their lesson just moments earlier, but it seemed as though they would have to learn that lesson the hard way.

The boys had now arrived at the section of the park where Mr. O'Toole was sitting. He could now get a good look at them both. One of them had messy red curls on top of his head, and was clad in a lime green hooded sweatshirt. The other one had short, dark hair, wearing a black, long-sleeved sweater with what appeared to be a logo of a giant green pig stitched on the front. But Mr. O'Toole wasn't interested in fashion critique. Instead, he wanted the boys to leave the park as soon as possible so he could go back to bird watching in peace.

Mr. O'Toole's focus soon shifted towards a small bush with tiny red berries growing on it. He knew that those berries could feed dozens of birds at once. He had gotten some of his best sightings around that bush. The last thing he wanted was for the boys to cause any damage to it.

Like clockwork, the boy cloaked in green was so focused on his phone that he failed to notice a deep crack inside the concrete of the path they were walking down. He stumbled over the crack, his phone flying out of his hands at that moment, and fell head first right into the bush. His phone smashed into several pieces beside him.

The other boy ran to the bush to check on his friend. “Are you okay, man?”

“My phone!” the other boy moaned. “I just bought it yesterday!”

Mr. O' Toole continued to watch as the boy in the black shirt attempted to pull the other boy out of the bush. The boy's attention was so focused on helping his friend that he didn't quite hear the loud chirping noise in the background.

But Mr. O'Toole heard the noise, and immediately stood up. He recognized it immediately.“That sound...it sounds like birds chirping. It couldn't be...could it?”

Sure enough, Mr. O'Toole's suspicions were correct when a pair of the very birds that he had hoped to see flew past him towards the direction of the two boys. Without warning, the two Northern Mockingbirds swooped down towards the boy wearing the black sweater, scaring him. “Hey!” the boy screamed. “Get lost, you stupid birds!!!”

Mr. O'Toole could only watch as the two birds attacked the boy in black. Because he owned every book ever printed on the subject of ornithology, he knew that if the habitat of the Northern Mockingbird was threatened in any way, they would attack the enemy to defend it.

In this case, the habitat was that bush. And the enemy was the boy with the pig on his shirt.

The boy swatted the birds away in desperation, but the birds were relentless in their attack. The boy started to run away from the birds, hoping to outrun them, but in the scuffle, his shoelace had become untied. Tripping over the lace, the boy stumbled in the direction of the river flowing through the park and before he knew what had happened, he fell head first into the water with a gigantic splash.

Mr. O'Toole could not contain his laughter as the two boys made their way out of the bush and the river respectively. “Serves those boys right.” he thought to himself.

“Those stupid birds! I'm soaked, and so is my phone!” the boy in the black cried out. “I'm gonna have to go home and change! We'll really be late for school now!”

“Come on!” the boy in green said. “Let's get out of here before those birds come back!”



And from a distance, Mr. O'Toole chuckled to himself. It had been a day that he would never forget. Not only had he gotten the chance to see the elusive Northern Mockingbird, but he also had the satisfaction of seeing two distracted boys being taught a valuable lesson by a couple of angry birds.

Friday, January 23, 2015

The Four Grandparents Who Shaped Me...

It's never very easy to handle the death of a loved one.  It can be one of the most painful, sobering experiences that one can ever endure.



On January 21, 2015, I lost my last surviving grandparent.

My paternal grandmother passed away at the age of 91 as a result of illness.  She had been in a nursing home for a few years prior, and while I wasn't always able to go up and visit her, I was always thinking of her.

On one hand, I am relieved to know that she is no longer in pain and that she did live a good long life.  Of all of my grandparents, she definitely lived the longest.  But her passing also leaves behind a hole.  As I mentioned before, she was my last surviving grandparent.  All four of my grandparents have passed on, and I truly do miss all four of them a lot.

They all made an impression on me throughout my life, and I miss all of them terribly.

So, I thought that I would make today a short entry day, and use it to speak openly about the four wonderful people who I called my grandparents.

I still remember when I lost my first grandparent.  It was October 1991.  I was 10.  My maternal grandmother had died of a heart attack at just 66 years old.  It was probably the death that I took the hardest, probably because I was so young at the time, and probably because she and I had a really close relationship.  My memories of her are few and far between, and my memories of her keep fading over time, but I do remember her being the most patient woman in the world.  I was kind of a hyper child at the time, and I was probably bouncing off the walls whenever I came over to visit.  And yet, like only a grandmother would do, she would try to calm me down by giving me Oreo cookies, cherry 7-UP, and other sugary treats that you probably really shouldn't give a hyper child.  But she did this because she really loved me, and I think she could tell that I was a child who thought outside the box a lot.  It didn't matter in the end though.  I knew that she would always have my back.  And, I think that's why her death hit me so hard, as I only had her for ten years.  That's way too short.

The second grandparent I lost was my paternal grandfather, who succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 84 in July 2000.  The eldest of all my grandparents, the man that I affectionately called "Pa" was a fairly quiet man who had simple beliefs - and I honestly believe that if I gained anything from him, it was the ideal that you didn't need to have a lot of money to keep from having fun.  He certainly didn't need a lot to keep him happy as he was always in a good mood whenever I saw him.  I never really told anyone this before because I didn't want to sound insensitive, but I always thought he had a "Tigger" grin.  You know how in the Winnie-the-Pooh cartoons, Tigger would have this huge grin on his face?  Well, whenever I see Tigger, I sort of am reminded of my grandfather in some weird way.  Well, that plus he did a step dance at my sister's wedding when he was 81 years old.  Just let that sink in for a second.

My maternal grandfather stayed alive for ten years after Grandma passed away.  He died in April 2001 at the age of seventy-eight - just nine months after my paternal grandfather.   I was smack dab in the middle of exams during that time, and I remember it being a crazy time of year.  I was bouncing back and forth between school and home that whole month of April, and I think the whole thing was kind of a blur.  Admittedly, while I did love my grandfather, I think he and I had the most distant relationship.  I wouldn't say that we absolutely hated each other.  Far from it.  He and I just kind of saw things differently.  He did help me out with a history project on "The Great Depression" in high school (after all, his childhood basically lasted the whole depression).  And, people always have said that physically speaking, I look a lot like him.  I don't see it, but you tell me.

And, finally, my paternal grandmother, who just passed away two nights ago.  And you know, I would say that if I inherited anything from her, it would be a couple of things.  Firstly, I suppose I could say that I inherited my poor vision from her, but that wouldn't be accurate, as three of my four grandparents wore glasses.  More importantly than that, I would say that I developed my belief system through her.  I know it sounds a bit strange for me to say this, since my grandmother was extremely religious, and I kind of shun organized religion.  But you know, she never thought any less of me for feeling the way that I did.  She still loved me unconditionally.  The same way that all my other grandparents did when they were still here.

Not everybody in this world is lucky enough to have known their grandparents.  And yet, I was blessed enough to have gotten to know all four of them in some manner.  In that sense, I consider myself extremely lucky and loved.  To have had four people in my life who shaped me in some manner to who I am today.  I take all of these traits and quirks with me today, and in some manner, I suppose that all four of them will still live on, as long as I live.

This post is dedicated to all grandparents in the world, as well as to anyone who has lost a grandparent in their lifetimes.  Believe me when I say that I know how hard it is to say goodbye.

Thank you.

In Loving Memory



Corva Mae Anderson
July 13, 1925 - October 29, 1991

Harold Anderson
March 1, 1923 - April 20, 2001




Stanley Turcotte

May 3, 1916 - July 14, 2000

Helen Turcotte
June 29, 1923 - January 21, 2015

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Controversial Magazine Ads

Okay, so I'm running short on time today, so this blog entry will be made up of mostly funny photos.  It's like the old style FUNNY MONDAY posts that I used to do - only it's on a Thursday instead.  And frankly, FUNNY THURSDAY just doesn't have that same ring to it.

Anyway, the topic for today's feature presentation is magazine ads.  Anyone who has ever picked up an issue of TIME, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, or People will likely encounter a variety of ads scattered throughout a standard copy.  Did you know that the average magazine has a total of fifty or more print advertisements in each issue that it puts out?  I suppose that publications really don't have a choice in the matter though.  Every ad that appears in the magazine means more promotion for them, and it probably makes the publications a lot of money as well.

But have you ever wondered how some ads even get to be published inside the magazines in the first place?  Some are just horrible.  Some miss the mark.  Some are filled with sexual innuendo.  Some are plain sexist.  And some just make you laugh.

So let's take a look at some of these ads through the years, shall we?



1.  I'm not gonna lie.  This is classic.



2.  And this ad just makes me want to lose my breakfast, lunch, and dinner all in one.  Seriously, is there any need for that?



3.  Maybe they could guarantee it in 1974 or whatever year this ad first came out, but I guarantee you that in 2015, you'll need more than a groovy tuxedo!



4.  Rest in peace, Gumby.  Maybe Pokey can avenge your death by pelting those nasty altoids with tic tacs.



5.  I suppose if chocolate made her gassy, she could have two things she would regret.



6.  That's what they all say...



7.  You know what they say about kids and 7-up.  If they don't develop juvenile diabetes by the time they're eight years old, they'll never get it.



8.  I think Joe Nichols had it wrong.  Tequila doesn't make her clothes fall off.  Coppertone does.



9.  Those cough drops contain WHAT?!?



10.  Yeah, like the gum is the thing that you're really looking at here.  The pathetic thing is...I think I have the same underwear in my drawer at home...

(And no, that is NOT me in the photo.)



11.  Wow...how times have changed.



12.  I bet you'd never see an ad like this during the Salem Witch Trials...



13.  I bet she can think of someone...ah, I mean, something else she can burn instead.



14.  I can think of a few things the wife can give him back in return.  None of them good, by the way.



15.  I don't know about any of you, but if a man can supposedly be bought for the same price as canned ham, I would consider that insulting.  Oh, and the fact that the woman is trying to lure a man into her orbit by pretending he's Yogi Bear doesn't really make the situation pleasant either.



16.  So, what is this ad saying?  You can eschew law school and become a lawyer simply by using Facebook?  I wonder if people earn doctorates this way?



17.  Yes.  Women can open ketchup bottles.  They can also use the ketchup bottle as a weapon against the person who came up with this horrible ad. 



18.  I'm not even going to comment on this one...

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Migraine in the Membrane - And They Suck!

At the risk of sounding like a public service announcement, I'm going to just come right out and say it.



I hate migraine headaches.  I absolutely hate them. 

Last night, I probably had what I consider to be the mother lode of all things migraine.  To make matters worse, I was right in the middle of a shift at work when I felt the sharp, pounding pain of a migraine headache seeping in.

One minute, I'm pricing video games, and the next, I feel like the people on the cover of the "Grand Theft Auto V" game just shot me in the front of the head!  Anyone who has ever gone through a migraine headache knows what I am talking about.  The sharp pains that come all of a sudden physically immobilizes you in your tracks.  It's brutal.  Absolutely brutal.

It is a frustrating part of life for me.  Every two weeks like clockwork, I always happen to get a migraine headache.  So, I suppose you could say that I average a total of twenty-one migraines per year.  That may not seem like such a huge number to some of you reading this, but if you are like myself - one of the one billion people in the world who suffer from migraines - they can be quite debilitating.

Oh, sure, my migraines don't impact my ability to work or do everyday activities.  In my case the longest I have ever had one was eight hours.  And if I have a supply of Advil on hand, they can dissipate in just two hours.  But some people have symptoms for as long as three whole days.  And if you are one of those people who have 72-hour migraines, you definitely have my sympathies.

But as I said before, I had never suffered a migraine that was as bad as the one I had last night.  It was throbbing so bad that it caused me to walk slightly abnormal and I was feeling nauseated.  I really thought that I was going to pass out or throw up or both.  Now, nausea and trouble walking are unfortunately common symptoms of a classic migraine, so there wasn't much I could do except let the symptoms go away on their own (with help from Advil, of course).  On the other hand, I did feel some relief knowing that the agony that I was feeling wasn't caused by something else (food poisoning, the flu, stroke, heart attack).

(Yeah, I admit that I become quite the hypochondriac whenever I feel pain.  I have a low tolerance for pain.  I refuse to get piercings or tattoos done as a result!)

I don't really remember when I got my first migraine headache, but they have been something that I have always remembered having.  I know that I probably missed a few days of school because of migraine headaches, and I am fairly sure that on a couple of occasions, I've had to go home early from work because the pain got too great.

But I suppose it was inevitable that I would be stricken with the curse of the migraine.  After all, one of my sisters gets them almost as often as I do.  And our dad is also a migraine sufferer, as was our late grandfather on our dad's side.  Basically, if you wanted proof that migraines were a genetic trait passed along from generation to generation, my family is a shining example of that. 

You know, come to think of it, my dad's side is where I seem to get all the genetic defects.  Migraines, poorly developed foot arches, male pattern baldness.  Gee...thanks, Dad!  Really, thank you.

But really, there is some truth to that.  Of all the migraine cases that happen in the world, about 67% of them are within families.  So, chances are that if you suffer from migraines, you'll have someone else in your family who does as well.

I also seem to be a bit of a minority when it comes to the demographics of migraine sufferers.  Migraines tend to happen more often with females.  Approximately one-fifth of all females in the world will have at least one migraine in their lives.  In men, that number is only one-ninth.  But hey, I suppose in that case, I beat the odds.  Just a shame it was in the migraine lottery and not Lotto 6/49.

By the way, did you know that the word migraine comes from the Greek word "hemikrania", which translates to "pain on one side of the head".  It's true.  Although my migraines are different every time, I have to say that I get the majority of them at the frontal lobe, usually in the right hand side.  I would assume that they take place on the right hand side as I always have blurred vision in that eye prior to one taking place.  I believe that stage is known as the "aura phase".

Yeah, it's quite interesting what you find when you research migraine headaches.  Apparently there are several different stages that take place in the life of a migraine.  They are the prodrome, aura, pain, and postdrome.  I won't go into detail about each one, but let's just say that the aura phase is the warning sign, and the pain phase is hell for anyone.

So, what triggers migraine headaches?  Stress is a big one.  And I would probably hazard a guess that stress played a part in almost every one that I have had these past few months anyway.  But fatigue, hunger, and even exposure to bright light can be factors in causing migraines.

Thankfully, treating migraines is quite simple.  You just have to take pain relieving medicine each time you feel one coming on.  But for those who get them every other day, or those who actually miss a lot of work because of them, there are apparently surgical procedures that one can undergo in order to correct them.

Thankfully, I am nowhere near that point.  I just get them every two weeks like clockwork.  I can almost eerily time when the next one will be coming.  Maybe I have a Richter scale in my head!

Or maybe I'm pregnant.  Yeah.  That's gotta be it.  ;)

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

January 20, 1993

Okay, so today happens to be the 20th of January.  In the northern hemisphere, it can be one of the colder days in the whole year.  In the southern hemisphere, it is one of the warmest.  And every four years it is the designated date for the inauguration of the newly-elected President of the United States of America. 

Of course, we will have to wait until 2017 for the next one to take place, so why don't we take the time to have another edition of the Tuesday Timeline while we wait?  Just think, we only have 104 more of these to go until the next President takes office!

Interestingly enough, this entry is not about a president or politics.  I just opened up with it because I just needed a cool intro.  However, I will say that today's subject is one that exhibited genuine class and beauty with every single project she took part in.  That will be your only clue.

For now, we should probably have a look at the other events of January 20.

1649 - Charles I of England goes on trial for treason and other "high crimes"

1783 - A peace treaty is signed between Great Britain, France, and Spain, thus ending hostilities in the American Revolutionary War

1841 - Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British

1887 - The U.S. Senate allows the U.S. Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base

1920 - Actor DeForest Kelley (d. 1999) is born in Toccoa, Georgia

1929 - The first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors - "In Old Arizona" is released

1941 - A German officer is murdered in Bucharest, Romania, sparking rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard

1945 - Germany commences with the evacuation of over 1.8 million people from East Prussia during World War II

1954 - The National Negro Network - initially comprised of 40 charter member radio stations - is established

1981 - Iran releases fifty-two hostages from captivity the very same day that President Ronald Reagan is inaugurated

1986 - The very first observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday takes place, one day after what would have been King's 57th birthday

1987 - Terry Waite is kidnapped in Lebanon, not to be released from captivity until November 1991

1990 - Actress Barbara Stanwyck passes away at the age of 82

1992 - Air Inter Flight 148 crashes into the side of a mountain in France, killing eighty-seven passengers

2003 - Actress Carrie Hamilton - the daughter of Carol Burnett - dies of cancer at just 38 years of age.  Actress Nedra Volz also passes away on this date at the age of 94

2012 - Singer/songwriter Etta James dies of leukemia, just five days before her 74th birthday

I also want to take the time to wish the following famous faces a very happy birthday; Rudy Boesch, Buzz Aldrin, Pierre Lalonde, Linda Moulton Howe, Rick Evans, Eric Stewart, David Lynch, Liza Goddard, Paul Stanley, Colleen Zenk, Lorenzo Lamas, Tami Hoag, Will Wright, James Denton, Greg Kriesel, John Michael Montgomery, Sophie - Countess of Wessex, Stacey Dash, Rainn Wilson, Melissa Rivers, Mitch Benn, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Edwin McCain, Skeet Ulrich, Gary Barlow, Questlove, Sid Wilson, Matthew Tuck, Crystal Lowe, Joe Swash, and Evan Peters.

All right.  So, let's have a look at what today's Tuesday Timeline date is.



Okay, so we are going back in time twenty-two years to January 20, 1993.

And in order to help me out with introducing the subject of this blog, I thought I would introduce a one-hit-wonder song courtesy of the group Deep Blue Something.



Yes, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" was the group's lone hit, released in 1995.  But have you often wondered where they got the inspiration behind the title of the song?

Well, it comes courtesy of a film released in 1961 entitled - wait for it - "Breakfast at Tiffany's".  The film is a romantic comedy with the famous New York City jewelry store serving as the backdrop as we explore the living and the loving of one Holly Golightly.



The film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" was considered to be one of the best films made during the 1960s.  It was nominated for five Academy Awards, had one of the most memorable pieces of music ever heard in motion pictures (which I will post a little later in this blog), and was preserved by the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress in 2012.

And it only further cemented Audrey Hepburn's status as one of the most respected film stars of her era, and perhaps of all time.



Yes, Audrey Hepburn happens to be the star of today's Tuesday Timeline.  The significance of January 20, 1993 in relation to Hepburn?  That will come later.

For now, here's a brief biographical sketch of this lovely lady.

She was born in Belgium on May 4, 1929 with the given birth name of Audrey Kathleen Ruston (meaning that she was not related to another famous Hepburn - Katharine), and raised in England.  But because of her father's job with a British company and her mother's family hailing from the Netherlands, Hepburn proved that she was not just a pretty face.  She learned five different languages by the time she was a young woman.

She also pursued an interest in the performing arts from the age of five, where she studied ballet.  She had quite a couple of life-altering events take place when she was young - the marriage of her parents ended abruptly and World War II forced the family to relocate to The Netherlands while England was under attack.  Hepburn even had to temporarily go under a German name while she was in school as an English sounding name during the German occupation was considered to be one of the worst things that one could have.  Despite this, Hepburn continued to pursue ballet, using her talents to secretly raise money for the Dutch resistance.  She was also very affected by the amount of suffering that she was seeing all around her at the height of the war, noting that people were starving and freezing on the streets because of the German occupation, and these scenes would impact Hepburn in later years.

After the war ended in 1945, Audrey relocated to Amsterdam where she continued her ballet training, and three years later, Hepburn made her very first filmed appearance.  Granted, it was in a piece that was more or less a travel film entitled "Dutch in Seven Lessons", but that little travel film was enough for her to pursue a different career route.  It was just as well anyways.  Because of her height and malnutrition during wartimes, she never would have made it as a prima ballerina.

Hepburn started her career as an actress by first working as a chorus girl at the local theatre scene.  She performed in "High Button Shoes", "Sauce Tartare", and "Sauce Piquante" in London.  And after a few elocution lessons, Hepburn found herself appearing in minor roles in such films as "One Wild Oat" and "The Lavender Hill Mob".



But it was when she was cast in the Broadway play "Gigi" in 1951 that Hepburn really began to get noticed.  The play ran for 219 performances from November 1951 to May 1952, and earned Hepburn a Theatre World Award for her work.  That lead to Hepburn's first starring role in a motion picture, playing the role of Princess Ann alongside Gregory Peck in 1953's "Roman Holiday".



True story.  Initially, the movie poster was to have Gregory Peck's name in star billing text while Audrey's name was to be below it in much smaller font.  It was Peck who argued that Audrey should share star billing with him and that her name be the same size as his in the poster.  His reason for standing up for Audrey?  He knew she would be a big star - and he didn't want to look like a big jerk in the process!

It seemed like such an insignficant detail in comparison, given that the film was a cinematic masterpiece.  But the film earned Hepburn an Academy Award for Best Actress!  On her first starring role, no less! 



The same year that "Roman Holiday" was released, Hepburn's image appeared on the cover of TIME Magazine, debuting what would come to be known as the classic "Audrey Hepburn look".

Needless to say, once she won that Academy Award, she basically earned herself a seven-film contract with Paramount Pictures.  And believe me when I tell you that Hepburn's contract was a really sweet deal.  Not only was she contracted to seven films, but she was given a break of twelve months in between each film which would allow her to perform on stage at the same time! 

And some of those films that Hepburn made during that time?  1954's "Sabrina", 1956's "War and Peace", 1957's "Funny Face", and, of course, 1961's "Breakfast at Tiffany's". 

Audrey Hepburn certainly proved herself to be one of the greatest actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s.  And after appearing in fifteen consecutive films - all of which did very well at the box office - Hepburn went into semi-retirement to be with her family, though she still appeared in a few projects here and there.  Her last credited role was in 1989 where she made a cameo appearance in "Always".  



But by the time the 1980s rolled around, Hepburn had become involved with the international charity UNICEF, and was named a Goodwill Ambassador for the charity.  Between 1988 and 1992, Hepburn traveled to such places as Ethiopia, Turkey, Central America, Sudan, Bangladesh, and Vietnam to raise awareness for immunization and to install potable water systems for communities.  She became the face of UNICEF for several years, and she genuinely enjoyed her work as a humanitarian.

And, I am sure that had she lived long enough, she would have continued to be a symbol of hope for those who needed it the most.

You see, that's how today's date ties into Audrey Hepburn.  In September 1992, Hepburn began to experience abdominal pains, and it was discovered that she had inoperable abdominal cancer.

On January 20, 1993, at her home in Switzerland, Audrey Hepburn passed away.  She was just 63 years of age.

And although her life was cut tragically short by disease, her legacy still remains.  She was a warm and loving woman who saw how people suffered first hand and wanted to help them.  She was also a well-respected actress who showed dignity and class in every performance she gave.

Audrey Hepburn was the kind of woman that was an inspiration to all of us.  And on the twenty-second anniversary of her passing, we still remember her.  To close this blog off...a piece of music from "Breakfast at Tiffany's".